Because polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are abundant throughout the solar system, the team said the research demonstrates that the photochemistry of these molecules in interstellar ices could be a contributor to interstellar organic chemistry.

Furthermore, complex organic molecules similar to the ones produced in the experiment have been found in meteorites, along with oxidized polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Details of the work appear in the Feb. 19 issue of Science.